Themed Container Gardens

Over many years, I’ve seen herb gardeners plant
a delightful variety of themed gardens and have planted quite a few
myself. For those with the luxury of big yards to play with, it’s
great fun to create a new bed and group together plants that share
some characteristic, flavor or use. But there’s no reason a
container gardener can’t do the same thing on a smaller scale.

Regardless of his or her imagination, no gardener can afford to
sacrifice function for form, so when you choose a container for a
themed garden, be sure it provides adequate drainage. If the
container doesn’t have drainage holes in the bottom, drill some or
find another container. If the garden will stay indoors, be sure to
include a tray underneath it to catch water overflow. Make sure the
container is large enough for the plants you want to include, with
room for growth. The plants that make up your theme also can be
planted in separate pots, which then can be grouped together for
effect. Choose herbs suitable for pot culture.

A SPAGHETTI GARDEN

For an Italian friend who loves to cook, I once put together a
little garden of the main herbs he uses in his wonderful spaghetti
— basil, oregano, parsley and garlic chives. At a flea market I
found a large, old copper kettle (which I promptly ruined by
drilling holes in the bottom), and once I’d planted it, I inserted
a wooden spoon on which I’d written his name.

A LEMON GARDEN

The bright, cheery flavor and fragrance of lemon is found in
many herbs, including some that are more adaptable to climate
variations than citrus trees. Some suggestions: lemon verbena,
without question one of the finest lemon scents; lemon balm, which
is foolproof; lemongrass; lemon thymes, which come in both creeping
and upright varieties and are easy to incorporate into plant-ings.
You’ll also find lemon-scented varieties of mint, basil, catnip,
scented geranium and others.

The lemon garden can include lemon colors as well as scents.
Many plants’ leaves have yellow or golden variegation, and many
boast lemon-colored flowers (‘Moonbeam’ coreopsis and ‘Lemon Gem’
marigolds, for example).

A TEA GARDEN

Several years ago, an Herb Companion reader sent us a picture of
a large, teapot-shaped container he had made for his yard, then
planted with herbs for teas. He’d started with the drum of a
washing machine, then used hypertufa on the surface and to fashion
a spout and handle. (Hypertufa is a porous concoction of peat moss
and cement that can be used to make your own pots. For instructions
on how to make your own, please check our website at
www.herbcompanion.com.) It was an adorable garden, and quite a
conversation piece, I’m sure. The herbal possibilities for a tea
garden are myriad: the many mints, chamomile, sage, pineapple sage,
basils, and all those lemony herbs.

A SALAD GARDEN

An extra-large wooden salad bowl could serve as the container
for this garden, as wood is porous and allows the water to drain
away (although drilled holes will help drain extreme excess
moisture). You could include some salad greens (the leaves would be
harvested when young and tender, so you could get by with a bit of
overcrowding), as well as parsley, some basil, a mint, an edible
flower such as violets, calendula or pinks, and whatever other
herbs you might want to toss in a salad, which gives you many, many
choices.

Be sure to include identification information and an explanation
of your theme. If you want to, you could tuck in a little gardening
gift as well, whether it be herb seed packets, a trowel or a
mister, a gardening book or a blank journal with flower
illustrations. And certainly a copy of your favorite Herb
Companion.

Kathleen Halloran, former editor of The Herb Companion, is a
freelance writer and editor in Las Vegas, Nevada. Please join us
online to discuss your favorite gift ideas. See “Forums” at
www.herb companion.com.